Turn Blue
by sleepyaugustus
Summary: In which Annabeth hates people, but loves The Black Keys. Her best friend forces her onto a random chat site where she meets a guy named Percy who is strange./ One-Shot turned Four-Shot (I can't be stopped)
1. One-Shot

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the ****song Turn Blue ****or Gold on the Ceiling**** by The Black Keys, ****or Omegle****. All rights go to those deserving.**

**Ξ**

Annabeth was _so_ done with the guys at her school.

Not even going about to say how utterly stupid they were, with their headphones bigger than dinner plates, cranked up to full volume and probably damaging the brain cells they couldn't afford to lose - It didn't help that they were horny pigs as well. It was the _third_ time this month someone had asked her if she would like to take a trip to "Pound Town."

Teenage boys were infuriating.

She plugged her ear buds in, pressing the little white triangle signifying "play" on her iPod classic. By some miracle of a higher power, the music that started to sound in her ears was the art of her favorite band.

The Black Keys had to have been a gift to humankind from the gods themselves. Even deities couldn't deny the sheer genius that was rock music.

Sitting in her room and tearing apart a granola bar was where she could be found on her Friday night. She began blinking in union with the beat of the song flooding her eardrums, and she tapped her socked foot along, too. She was supposed to be out partying or something, right? Surely that was what kids did these days?

She wouldn't know. Annabeth spent most of her days locked up in her bedroom, scrolling through Tumblr or remixing music on her app GarageBand_._

Annabeth would openly describe herself as an introvert. Teenagers annoyed her, and boys, in general, sucked.

She decided she'd come out of her room once she was an adult, and didn't have to deal with the evils of modern youth anymore. Then again, she might have to stick around this place forever.

Just as she stuffed a torn up clump of Quaker Chewy snack bar into her mouth, an olive-skinned boy stumbled through her bedroom door.

Taking a look at the sad lump that was his best friend, Nico shook his head in disapproval. "You've got to be kidding me, Annabeth."

She wrinkled her nose. "If you've got something to say, then say it, di Angelo," Annabeth countered hotly.

The black-haired boy chuckled. "You are _pathetic_."

"Tell me something I don't know."

He sighed and plopped down next to her on the bed. "Why do you hate humanity so much? Boys in particular."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Spare me. Don't act like we haven't already discussed this at least a hundred times over your dad's pound cake and chocolate syrup. You are the only boy I will ever be able to tolerate – and that's largely due to your advantage."

Nico raised an eyebrow in question. "And what may that be?"

The blonde girl snorted. "The fact that you won't hit on me. Ever."

A slow smile spread across his mouth, revealing a full set of teeth. "A guy shouldn't have to be gay for him to be worthy of your attention, Annabeth."

"I didn't say that," she sighed. "I'd just like to meet a guy that's more interested in my personality than my looks and abundance of feminine curves."

Nico snickered. Then, his look turned thoughtful. Almost hesitant. "I have an idea, but I won't tell you what it is until you agree with it."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Well, I'm not just gonna agree to _anything_."

He smirked. "Why can't you trust that my intentions are in your best interest?"

With a dry look, she said, "Because they're probably not..."

"Listen, 'Beth. You gotta get out there. Socialize with people that aren't you fish or your gay best friend."

Annabeth's gaze drifted to the left side of her room where a glass fish bowl sat, inhabiting her pet goldfish. He looked bored as usual. "Wasabi makes great company," she argued.

"Well, Wasabi the goldfish can't hold a conversation longer than a couple of bubbles. So, sadly you're out of luck." Nico rolled his eyes.

"What's the point you're trying to make? What's this about?"

The boy crossed his arms over his band-shirt clad chest. "I'm not telling you until you agree. I said it, I meant it."

She would admit she was curious. Though she didn't want to get roped into Nico's schemes if this turned out poorly.

Then again, she could use this situation to her advantage. Leverage, in a way. "I'll agree. On one condition."

Her best friend sighed, almost like he had figured she would try something like this. He gestured for her to go on.

"I'll do whatever it is that you want, _if_..." She hesitated slightly, to put him on the edge of his seat. It didn't work. He just rolled his eyes, and muttered a 'get on with it, already.'

"If you join the Mythomagic club at school," she forced out in a rush.

Nico was actively obsessed with the game Mythomagic. Afraid of ridicule from others, he refused to join the club. Annabeth didn't care what the petty teenagers thought, and Nico shouldn't have either. He shouldn't have had to hide his love for something he was passionate about.

It was hard to believe he could overcome something like his _sexuality_, but not his interests. If he could openly come out as gay (which was a lot harder to admit, if you asked her) then he could openly like a dorky card game.

Logic.

"Annab-"

"Don't you 'Annabeth' me, di Angelo. Stop caring about what the others think. You love Mythomagic. And you'd get to play with other people who're obsessed with it as much as you are," Annabeth fought.

She could see the resolve in his face. "You are _such_ a stubborn pain in my a-"

"You'll do it?" she cut him off.

Smiling evilly, he replied, "Yes. And now you must agree to my plan."

"Okay. I agree."

He shook his head. "That's not enough." He stuck out his hand and looked at her pointedly.

Annabeth knew what he wanted. She sighed, because there was no going back after that. "Fine," she muttered.

Taking his hand in her own, she moved her fingers along with his in their "secret best friend handshake."

"No backsies," Nico sang excitedly.

She couldn't keep the amused smile off of her lips. She loved her best friend.

"Alright, now what is it, Nico?"

His smile turned mischievous as he got up, and took her Mac Book out from its spot on her desk. Plopping down beside her, he powered it up and typed in her password.

She gave him a confused look, but he only smirked at her and turned back to the screen. He clicked on the small blue Safari icon and watched as the internet popped up. Annabeth didn't like where this was going.

Quickly, he typed something into the address bar and the website loaded. Immediately, Annabeth cringed.

Omegle.

"Nico..."

"Annabeth..." He smirked, knowing there was no way out for her.

"As my friend, you won't make me do this." At least she hoped.

His smirk only grew. "Oh yes. As your friend, I _definitely_ will."

She groaned loudly as he placed the computer in her lap. In big orange letters it said "Omegle." Under that it said, "Talk to strangers!"

The blonde turned to him with a pleading look. He was grinning when he pointed to the big blue box on the screen. "Start a chat, Annabeth!" He said happily.

Reluctantly, she moved the cursor to the box, before zipping it down to a different box. "Add Interests." If she was going to do this, she was going to do it her own way.

Thinking for only a second, she typed in the words _the black keys._ Nico rolled his eyes, but didn't protest.

Clicking "Start a chat," she saw the screen change and say, "Looking for someone you can chat with..." Underneath that in tiny letters, it read, "It may take a while to find someone with common interests. If you get tired of waiting, you can _connect to a completely random stranger_ instead."

The page stayed the same for a few seconds and Nico started to get impatient. "Just do someone random! This is taking too fucking long!"

Just as he said that, the screen morphed again. At the top of the page, "You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!" Just below that, "You both like _the black keys_."

Annabeth smirked smugly in her best friend's direction. He just scowled and pushed her face back to the screen, where the stranger had messaged her.

**FRIEND!**

She exchanged a look with the boy sitting next to her. _Okay_. Looking back, she saw the stranger had sent another message.

**fellow lover of the black keys, ive been searching all night for someone like you**

She thought about her reply carefully before she answered.

_**Hi**_

"Original," Nico mumbled.

Ignoring him, she saw the words 'Stranger is typing...' pop up.

**quick quiz. favorite black keys song?**

She pursed her lips, thinking. It was a tough choice, but she knew what the answer was.

_**Gold on the Ceiling. Followed closely by Turn Blue.**_

Stranger responded quickly.

**... you are approved. youre allowed to be my best friend**

**turn blue is the best song that has ever come into existence. gold on the ceiling is great too. youve got taste next question... patrick or dan?**

Nico scoffed and said, "I don't like this guy. That position is already occupied."

She pinched his pale cheek and cooed. The boy swatted her away as she laughed.

_**Is there an actual answer to that question? You can't just choose one. They're a package deal.**_

**CORRECT ANSWER**

**marry me**

_**You're weird.**_

**Only on Friday nights. And everyday the sun rises.**

She didn't want to laugh. But she had to. Nico watched with a grin. "Who was right? You're having fun!"

"And you'll be having fun in Mythomagic club."

He was quiet after that.

**alright mystery person. what's your name? i'm percy.**

_**Percy is an old man name.**_

**who says i'm not an old man?**

Annabeth's cursor was already hovering over "Stop", but he replied in time to catch her.

**dont next me. i'm seventeen i swear.**

Nico nudged her suggestively, raising his brows up and down. She pushed his shoulder.

_**Same**_

**so...**

**who are you, mystery friend?**

She had fully intended on telling him to go scratch, when Nico butted into her thoughts. "It won't hurt to tell him your name. He's not asking for your address and dress size. I think you'll be good."

Nico had logic unfortunately. She should at least _try_ to be friendly. Even if that sounded kind of painful.

_**Annabeth**_

**thats a beautiful name**

Her eyebrows furrowed. The guy was strange.

**I was hoping it would be something like Gertrude or Minerva so I could make fun of you**

_**My mother's name is Minerva.**_

**... ahem**

**and things just got awkward...**

Laughing she turned to Nico who also couldn't suppress his giggles. "Okay, maybe I do like him."

_**So Percy...**_

**yes..?**

_**Why are you on here?**_

**...dont laugh...**

_**No promises**_

**My friends think I sit in my room too much ignoring humanity. Maybe they dont just think it. Maybe its true. whatever**

Annabeth almost knocked Nico off the bed, throwing her hands at the keyboard to quickly write a reply.

_**OH MY GOD.**_

_**SAME.**_

**what! no way really? I just cant stand...living things**

_**I get you Percy**_

**i knew we'd be good friends...**

"Look at that, Annabeth! It's fate!" Nico screamed with wide eyes, pointing at the computer screen. "You guys are, like, made for each other!"

She thought for a second. What was weird was that she actually did want to keep talking to him. She wanted to talk to him off of this stupid website. That kind of thing didn't happen a lot. She normally hated guys.

While she was thinking of how to respond, he messaged her again.

**i really dont think you know, there could be hell below, i really do hope you know, there could be hell below**

**when the music is done and the lites are low, i will remember the times when love would really glow**

Annabeth was struck by how much she wanted to find this guy and just...become best friends. (Right along side Nico, of course. He needed her, whether he'd like to admit it or not.) The lyrics were from Turn Blue. His apparent favorite song. She wanted to say something back that would strike his attention. Because facing it, he probably thought she was boring.

It wasn't her fault, really. She didn't know how to do the whole "People thing."

_**If you're any more charming, I'll have to come find you.**_

It wasn't her best, but it was pretty much the first time she showed any real interest in the conversation.

**oh god please find me. i need new friends mine suck**

Laughing aloud, she took a leap. If she embarrassed herself, she could just next him anyway.

_**Wanna Skype?**_

Nico looked at the screen, mouth agape. "What?" He looked back toward her. "_What_?"

She smiled and ruffled his hair. "See, I'm sociable."

Turning back to the computer, she was actually...nervous. Weird.

**YES**

**i mean... sure... ya know if you wanna**

**im desperate sue me**

Annabeth laughed again. She felt light. A little relieved.

**skype name? if i havent scared you off by now...**

_**annabethhatesyou**_

**charming...**

She looked to the bottom of her screen as a little window opened up. _Skype request from pj__cantthinkofaname_

Nico was by now smiling broadly. "I'm always right, Annabeth. Get used to it."

As she fluffed her hair and wiped the runny eyeliner under her eyes, (Definitely _not_ trying to look good for Percy. _Definitely_.) she flicked his ear. "Shut up, Nico, before I send you out of the room without seeing him." His eyes went wide and he shook his head.

"Oh, dear God, please no. I bet he's hot."

Breathing in deep, Annabeth clicked "accept call."

Bright green eyes lit up the screen.

**Ξ**

**And we can just assume that Annabeth made some snarky remark about Percy's face being too close to the camera to hide her surprise at his utter sexiness.**

**.**

**One-Shot. Procrastinating slightly on writing the fifteenth chapter of Run. Oh Well.**

**Reviews are appreciated, as well as follows and favorites.**

**I love The Black Keys by the way. Let's just take a moment to appreciate them.**

…

**Amen.**

**Bella**


	2. Two-Shot

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the ****song Turn Blue by The Black Keys, ****Where is my head? by Pixies, ****Capri-Sun, ****or Omegle****. All rights go to those deserving.**

**Ξ**

"Whoa," Nico breathed.

Nico was right. The boy sitting in the computer screen was..._whoa_.

His grin was blinding, contrasting heavily with his dark black hair that fell down his forehead in messy waves. The irises of his eyes were luminous and seemed to just scream out for attention. They were impossible to ignore.

He wasn't real.

He couldn't be. The boy was too physically flawless to even exist on this planet. Or to be talking to Annabeth for Christ's sake.

This couldn't really be the cool Black Keys fan she met on Omegle.

Nico nudged her shoulder, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Say something," he muttered.

Shaking her head slightly to dispel her thoughts, she said the first thing she could think of. "Shit, back up a little. I can see straight up your nose to your brain."

Her best friend's head fell in shame. "That's not what I meant," he said quietly, so as not to let the sexy teenager hear.

But that teenager didn't seem to mind Annabeth's snarky comment. He threw his head back and laughed. Loudly.

And sweet baby Jesus was that a perfect sound.

Annabeth willed herself to look at him without drooling. Goddamn, this kid was fucking hot.

"I knew it..." Nico murmured.

"Annabeth?" The guy spoke. His voice was smooth and low. His eyes twinkled in curiosity and maybe something else. But she couldn't tell.

Shit, he said her name. Oh, and she definitely liked the sound. Maybe he would say it again? What was she supposed to do? _I don't know, answer maybe!_ Her mind screamed at her.

"Percy?" That seemed fairly reasonable. She couldn't even remember the last time a boy had her tongue tied. And this boy wasn't even in the same _room_ as her, God dammit.

A lopsided grin stretched onto his face and she heard Nico sigh dreamily. "That's me." Percy's eyes traveled to the left of her, where Nico was sitting.

She gestured to the boy at her side. "This is Nico. He's my best friend."

Percy nodded at him with a friendly smile. "Hey man."

Nico was close to hyperventilating. It was obvious that he was struck by Percy's looks as well. "She failed to mention that I am her _gay_ best friend. Single and ready to mingle."

Annabeth's mouth dropped into a gape and she stared at him. Loud, rumbling laughter could be heard through the speakers of her computer. Percy was cracking up and it was a heavenly sound.

She wanted to slap herself.

"You guys are funny..." Percy muttered while dramatically wiping nonexistent tears from under his eyes.

The blonde snorted. "Sadly, he wasn't joking."

Annabeth studied the computer screen once again. Percy was sitting on a bed. Probably had a laptop on his stomach. Music was coming from his end and she recognized it as _Where is my mind?_ by Pixies. God, his music taste was fucking superb. He was probably in his bedroom. The walls behind him were painted a dark blue, but mostly covered by posters, much like her own. Towards the bottom of the screen where the laptop must have been resting, she could see a shirtless chest. _O__f course_, this kid didn't find it necessary to wear a shirt when first meeting someone. And, _ of course,_ his chiseled chest had to be drool-worthy.

Her throat felt tight and she had to say something. She tried with a light and joking tone, "What are you doing? Meeting a stranger shirtless? How would you feel if _I_ answered this call without putting a shirt on?"

Ah fuck.

An amused dark eyebrow rose. "Do what you want. I certainly won't protest."

She winced, feeling like an idiot. Why was this guy making her so stupid?

"Oh God..." Nico mumbled sympathetically.

Clearing her throat, she looked away from the snickering face of the teenage boy. She was actually blushing. Her. Annabeth Chase was blushing. Fuck. "I didn't mean that."

"That's a shame," he admitted with a wicked glint in his eye.

Biting her lip, she looked back. His shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. "I definitely wanna hit you right now," she told him.

Winking, he replied in barely contained amusement, "In more ways than one, right?"

She choked. On what, she didn't know. "You're an asshole, sir."

"We all have to be good at something," he laughed.

Annabeth couldn't help but to laugh back. She was actually having fun talking to him - when she wasn't embarrassing herself, at least.

"You're not what I expected..." Percy mused.

Narrowing her gray eyes at the camera, she asked, "Well, what did you expect?"

"Not a hot blonde with an adorable blush. That's for sure." He bit his lip and dipped his head down.

The red on her cheeks darkened, and Nico's eyes widened. He looked back and forth between the computer and Annabeth before mock-fainting and falling backwards onto her bed with a dreamy sigh. The sexy teenager was simply too much for him to handle.

Her hands quickly came up to her face, hiding her scarlet cheeks. "You're doing this on purpose, you smug bastard!"

Percy guffawed, his laughter resonating through the speakers. "I can't help it! I'm serious, though. It's really cute."

Rolling her eyes, she didn't dare move her hands from her cheeks. She tried to think of a way to fluster this Percy guy, but her options were limited. He didn't even seem phased by Nico's not-so-discreet flirting.

She thought of something, but it only had a slim chance of working. This was Friday night, though. She should be doing something fun and putting herself out there. At least that was what she was pretty sure other kids did...Hell, Jim from woodshop went to the E.R. last Saturday for overdosing, so surely Annabeth could do this...

Who cared if she flirted with some band loser over the internet? Not that she wasn't one too, of course. So all the more reason, really.

"Well, you wanna know what I think is cute? Hot, even?" She fluttered her eye lashes. So cliché. Licking her lips, she leaned forward.

His eyebrows rose and he leaned forward as well. "What?" he asked, genuinely looking interested.

Sighing longingly, she looked somewhere off to the side. She twisted a finger around a golden lock of hair. Slowly she tried to sound seductive as she drawled, "Messy black hair, bright green eyes, a goofy lopsided grin..." she bit her lip, as she looked back to him. "Sexy tan chest with rock hard pecks..."

Percy's eyes widened and a strangled noise escaped his throat. He looked back to her and swallowed visibly.

Nico sprung his legs into his chest as he broke into loud laughter, rocking back and forth from his position on the bed. He knew Annabeth was messing with Percy and that Percy didn't have a _damn_ clue that she was doing it.

Watching Nico laugh, broke her facade of coquettish admiration. She burst into laughter with him. Percy narrowed his eyes, but seemed to be amused as well. He laughed along with them, a light pink dancing across the tops of his well-structured cheek bones.

Annabeth – 1

"So, Annabeth..." Percy started after his laughter cleared up.

"Hmm?" she hummed, still trying to calm down.

"There isn't any boyfriend over there that's going to kick my ass for making you blush, right?"

She was pretty sure she stopped breathing. Her stunned silence was enough for Nico to grab the laptop and look straight into the camera, speaking loud and clear.

"She is single as a pringle! No boys in her life except me! She just rejected some crusty loser today! And he _totally_ wanted to bump ugly. She's not dating anyone! You hear me? An-Y-One."

"Nico!" Annabeth screeched. She was mortified as she snatched the computer away from him and plopped it on her lap. "Do I need to send you outside until you can behave yourse-?"

Annabeth stopped short when she heard strangled gasps escaping the computer. Her head whipped around to see a red-faced Percy, leaned over, laughing so hard that it looked like he couldn't breathe. He was hitting his chest and tears were starting to leak out of his eyes. "Give me a minute," he wheezed out.

Annabeth glared at Nico, who just shrugged his shoulders. "If I'm joining Mythomagic club, you can _at least_ flirt a little. He's beyond worthy, Annabeth."

Coming down from his fit, Percy sighed happily. "You guys are a fuckin' riot."

Exasperatedly, she rubbed her face and groaned.

Nico smiled innocently. "Yeah. So, no boyfriend..." he cleared up.

Percy grinned and Annabeth swore it shouldn't have been fair for a guy to have been so attractive. "Good to hear," he said.

Sucking in a deep breath, Annabeth squeaked out, "I'm getting a drink!" as she ran from the room, leaving Nico to deal with the flirtatious hottie on the computer. Not that he would mind... like, at all.

Her feet padded down the hallway and onto the cold tile floor of her kitchen. Her parents were probably still at work, even at the late hour. Her twin brothers Bobby and Matthew were sleeping over at a friend's house. She was the only one without a life, it seemed.

Opening the door to her refrigerator, she pulled out a juice pouch. Capri-Sun. Thank Jesus, mom bought more.

She stuck the straw into the pouch's perforated hole and sucked down the drink like she was a woman dying of thirst. Her throat felt dry because Percy had a thing for making her squirm. Taking deep breaths, she pulled out a carton of ice cream and scooped some into a bowl. She made one for Nico as well, trying to stall time.

By the time she had finished wiping the spoons for the fourth time – just to make sure they were _really_ clean – she knew she had to go back in there. Nico was calling for her and was about to wake up the neighbors.

Slowly, she headed down the hallway back to her room, purposefully taking time to admire the paint color of her bedroom door. It was a nice off-white, kind of egg-shell col-

"Annabeth! Get in here, you sloth! It doesn't take that long to get a drink!"

Sighing, she shifted the bowls into one hand so she could open the door knob. Walking in, Nico was giving her a dry look. "Seriously? Ice cream in the middle of a New York winter?" She handed one to him and he instantly perked up. "For me? You shouldn't have..."

She rolled her eyes, but sat down with her bowl. Percy was still on the computer, looking like he was playing a game on his phone while he waited for her... until he stopped.

He looked up with knitted eyebrows. Eyes trained on Nico, he asked, "Wait, what did you say?"

Nico gave him a confused look as he licked a glob of ice cream off his spoon. "Uh, you shouldn't have?"

Percy shook his head. "No. Before that."

Her best friend had a concentrated look on his face. "Ice cream in the middle of a New York winter..?"

The boy on the computer's eyes widened and then he grinned. "No shit! Really?"

Annabeth blanched. "Why?"

Nico's smile turned sinister. "Oh yes, really, Percy. We're kicking it right here in Manhattan."

Percy threw his head back in disbelief, giving Annabeth a great view of his chest. "Wow. What are the odds?"

He looked back at the two of them, that lopsided grin sliding onto his face. "I'm living in Manhattan, right now. I go to Goode High."

Annabeth whimpered internally. This wasn't going to end well.

Nico jumped up and down. "We go to Tribeca!"

Percy was smiling wide. "That's so cool! We're, like, so close right now." He looked at Annabeth. "What do you think of all this, Annabeth?"

She puffed out a breath. "Honestly? I'm thinking of all the new ways I can embarrass myself with this new-found information."

Laughing, he responded, "Like how?"

"I don't know. I'm sure I can," she mumbled miserably.

Nico jumped in. "We should totally hang out! Annabeth is free pretty much every day for the rest of our lives, so take what you will from that."

"Nico," she whined. Did he really have to say that?

He smirked mischievously and muttered so Percy couldn't hear, "Hey, he's obviously already interested. There's no going back."

Smiling, Percy responded, "That sounds like a lot of fun. I already told you I needed new friends, Annabeth. You've passed all my worthiness tests with flying colors. And you _did_ say you wanted to come find me." Percy winked and looked as mischievous as Nico. "C'mon," he continued more sincerely. "I'll take you to the new record shop East off Fourth street. It'll be fun, I promise."

Taking a deep breath, she decided not to be a coward. Because, honestly, right now, he had her sporting some serious color in her cheeks. Running a hand through her hair, she replied. "You know what, Percy? I'll take you up on that offer, as long as you meant just the two of us." She added the last part with a pointed look at Nico.

Nico couldn't even register that he should be offended while he stared at Annabeth in unconcealed shock. His eyes were wide and he just sort of blinked at her.

Percy's grin could have blinded her. He bit his lip in an attempt to hold back the smile, but he couldn't. Letting out a chuckle of relief, he looked back at her.

"It's a date," he told her, his green eyes swirling in an unreadable emotion.

"It's a date," she confirmed with a nervous smile.

"I'm really jealous, right now," Nico pouted. "This was my idea! Where's my sexy man-candy?"

The three of them laughed together, the sound bouncing off the walls and probably waking up the neighbors. But Annabeth couldn't bring herself to care. Maybe Nico was right. Boys weren't _so_ bad.

Surprisingly, she was kind of glad she had been forced onto a chat sight on her Friday night. Go figure.

**Ξ**

**This just became a Two-Shot. A lot of people asked me to continue and I started to feel bad for leaving the One-Shot that way. I really had no idea what to do with this since I hadn't planned for an extra chapter. So if this kinda sucked you can blame my ill sense of creativity for that.**

**It's weird that now I'm procrastinating on writing the Epilogue to Run.**

**Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated, as well as follows and favorites.**

**Bella**


	3. Three-Shot

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Heroes of Olympus series, Bob's Burgers, or Omegle. All rights go to those deserving.**

**Mikró is a made up place. It doesn't exist. I think**

**Ξ**

"Nico, if you remind me _one more time_ when he's coming to pick me up, I'm going to feed you to Wasabi."

The punk boy groaned, swinging his feet off of her bed where he was sitting. "Dammit, Annabeth. Let me live vicariously through you." He stepped into view of the mirror she was sitting in front of, applying eyeliner to her misty gray orbs. "Did you ever stop to imagine how I feel? I wanna go on a date with a sexy guy from the internet, who coincidentally lives four blocks away."

Annabeth cringed. "Don't say it like that. It sounds like I'm about to be one of those girls in the newspapers who meet up with old perverts, because they call them pretty when no one else does."

Nico choked on a laugh, smiling at his best friend. Last week, Friday, he had forced her onto a chat site called _Omegle_, where she met a fellow Black Keys fan named Percy.

She hadn't expected to meet any cute boys that night – cute being an understatement. If anything, Percy was divine. But she wasn't complaining. Yet, at least.

When he had asked her to hang out, some kind of extremely-hot-guy haze must have settled over her, because for some reason, she had said yes. Even never having met the guy in reality. All she knew about him was the fact that he was a follower of The Black Keys and that he liked to make her blush.

Not reassuring.

Nico was off his rocker with jealousy. But she didn't know why. He was attractive, but by the end of the night, she could possibly be in Ukraine, being sold off as a sex slave in the black market. Was that really worth the eye-candy? She was afraid of his answer.

As she dragged her fingers through her blonde curls, trying to muss it up in her own careless kind of way, she glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. The glowing green numbers read _2:37__._

Percy would be at her house at half past three. Her hands started to moisten, and she felt like hitting herself. She most definitely should not be getting nervous over a _guy_. Especially a goober like Percy.

But she did like talking to him, and she was honest enough to say that with this past week of texting and Skyping with him, she may have developed a small..._crush_ on the Greek boy.

It was Saturday, exactly eight days since she first met him, and she finally agreed to follow up on her promise of hanging out with him. And Lord, was she freaking out.

She adjusted her Aerosmith band crop top and _tight_ black leggings, taking a deep breath. Nico was smirking at her, and she knew she wouldn't like what came out of his mouth next. "You look hot."

If any other boy had said that to her, she probably would have punched them in the face. She wasn't known to blush for anyone – now excluding Percy, much to her chagrin. But since this was Nico, she raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "What are you getting at?"

"You're trying for him. You _wanna_ look sexy for Percy." His face was amused, and Annabeth had half a mind to believe he would pull out his phone and take a damn picture.

"Nico. Shut up. Please."

"You do realize you are never going to live this down, right?" The boy pranced over to her bed, flopping onto it face-first with a dreamy sigh. "You are so freaking lucky. I would give my left testicle for a date with a boy like that."

"...You need to reevaluate your priorities."

"Says you."

Sighing, she settled onto the bed next to him. "This is a terrible idea, you know. We don't even know this guy."

Nico rolled his eyes, turning his body to face her. "You've been talking with him non-stop for a week, and now you're trying to pull the argument that you don't know him? I'm calling erroneous on that shit."

"I may have been texting him, but that doesn't guarantee the fact that he's not a sadistic pervert who likes to watch little blonde girls scream."

Her best friend's eyes widened and he let out a strangled laugh. "That was so crude."

She shrugged, fiddling with a loose string on the hem of her shirt. "It's true. He could be a fucking psychopath. If I die tonight, well, I warned you. At least you won't have to worry about buying me a birthday gift."

Nico gave her a dry look. "Stop being so dramatic."

Huffing, she sat up, trying to find something to do to pass the time. She may have been dreading the moment he got here, but that didn't mean she was enjoying spending her time having her stomach feel like it was eating itself.

In desperation, she flipped the on T.V, hoping for something not puke-worthy to occupy her time. When she found the show Bob's Burgers, she figured it was probably the worst program that ever had the pleasure of meeting her eyes, but she couldn't find it in herself to change the channel. No matter how much of her brain would be reduced to a rotting pit of pink mush by the end of one episode, she couldn't deny that the shit was funny.

It was the one where the oldest daughter of three children makes a new friend at school and the news of her "erotic friend fiction" was spilled. Nico turned around and watched with her, laughing obnoxiously loud when the daughter, Tina, lived out her fantasy of squeezing butts with a zombie and her crush, Jimmy Junior.

Sooner than she'd hoped, she felt her phone vibrate with a text. Not even ten seconds later, the sound of her doorbell ringing reverberated throughout the house. The text read, _I'm here_.

Rolling her eyes, she texted him back, _No shit_. Her confidence was an act. She was scared out of her pants. Nico was smirking at her and she could feel the sweat dotting her forehead.

_Deep breaths_, she reminded herself. Then she heard her father call up the stairs, and she forgot all about breathing. "Annabeth! Date's here!"

"Hear that, babe? Date's here. As in Percy. As in downstairs. In your house. Waiting for you."

"Shut up, Nico!"

The boy cackled pushing her by the shoulders out the bedroom door. "You'll thank me later. This is about to become one of the best nights of your pathetic life."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, quickly grabbing a wad of cash off of her desk before letting herself be pushed out the door. Nico guided her down the stairs, ignoring her protests. Annabeth squirmed, trying to elbow her best friend in the gut.

"Nico! Stop man-handling me!" She yelled as they stumbled onto the platform at the bottom of the stairs.

Unbeknownst to her, there was a certain black-haired boy standing just a few feet away, quietly making small talk with her father, having seen the whole thing. A blinding smile broke onto his face.

Looking up from the floor, she shoved Nico off and caught sight of Percy.

Well, fuck.

Because he was even hotter in person.

And he was _smiling_ at her, God dammit.

"Hey," he greeted, holding his arms out in what seemed to be asking for a hug. She couldn't analyze the gesture correctly.

But then she felt a rough shove at her back, and suddenly she was hugging Percy. Nico snickered.

"Hi," she said, her voice muffled into his admittedly firm chest. Though, he didn't taste nearly as good as he looked. With a mouthful of Percy's shirt, she was able to conclude that he used too much laundry detergent.

"It's nice to finally meet you," he told her, helping her steady herself as she shot Nico a shiver-worthy glare. "You look...great." His voice was a little breathless and she glanced up at him. He had to be at least four inches taller than her.

"Ha," Nico cut in, smirking. "You wanna know how much time she spent getting ready?"

"Nico!" Annabeth screeched. She reached over and flicked his ear. "I'll deal with you later. Don't think you're getting off easy cause I'm leaving."

Her best friend just smiled, waving his fingers regally. "It was nice meeting you, Percy." Nico batted his eyelashes and swung his hips as he retreated up the stairs to Annabeth's room, ready to spend the rest of the night there, waiting for her to come home so she could spill the details of the "date."

"You too, Nico," Percy called after him with an amused smile.

Then he turned to her and Annabeth considered the results of possibly running upstairs after Nico and ignoring Percy until he went home. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," she breathed, hoping that the house was actually blazing hot and it wasn't her skin.

…

Percy owned a big black Jeep. When they scrambled into the car, his fingers immediately found the knob on the radio. He twisted it around, and as the volume increased, the sound that came out made her smile.

She had to remember why she liked this guy in the first place. Everlasting Light by The Black Keys spun it's way out of the speakers. Percy grinned like he knew what she was thinking.

And maybe she felt a little anxiety let up. This was Percy. And he was a dork. Just like her.

"Oh baby, can't you see?" He sang along loudly, his voice cracking at the high note. She laughed loudly, feeling the tension soothe as she pushed at his shoulder.

"Shut up. You can't sing."

Percy grinned. "I have a feeling you don't care that I can't sing."

Maybe he was right. Whatever.

Her silence had him laughing. "Annabeth, you like me. Don't pretend that you don't, because if you didn't, you wouldn't trust me enough to take you on a date."

Fucking damn him, because she was getting tired of blushing. It was something she never had to deal with before, and now she just kind of wanted to hide her face in some kind of Lady Gaga sheath.

"_Annnnabeth_ likes me," he sang to the rhythm of the song. "And she gets all red when I talk to her..."

A string of profanities were begging to be let loose from her mouth and just freaking attack Percy with their impure slurs and insults, but she held them back. "I think I might hate you more than like you," she said sarcastically.

"How could you hate me?" He asked with a smirk that lifted up slightly more on the left side than the right. It _definitely_ wasn't endearing. "We're meant for each other."

"And how, pray tell, do you figure that?"

"I don't know anything about praying, but we are meant for each other and I know it. Fate wants us to be best friends, Annabeth." He turned the car onto a narrow street, swerving dangerously close to the sidewalk. The kid's driving was a wreck.

"That's all Fate wants from us?" She went on, hoping that she sounded more confident than she felt.

"Well," Percy drawled, jutting his head forward and tilting it to the side as if what he was saying was down to a science. "Maybe they want a little more from us. We'll just have to wait and see." He winked at her from the side.

She would have felt flustered, had Percy not ended up having to pound the brakes as a tiny, yellow Punch-Buggy pulled in front of them, flashing their favorite finger through the open window. "FUCK," Percy shouted, jerking them forward in their seats as he pulled to a sharp halt.

And Annabeth laughed at him. "You're a terrible driver, Percy."

"Eh," he dismissed, still looking a bit shaken up. "I'm not good at much of anything."

She smiled at him, drawing her attention back to the road. "Where are we going?"

The teenager grinned like that was the very question he wanted to hear. "Have you ever been to Mikró?"

Her eyebrows raised. "Me-Crow?" She asked slowly, enunciating the syllables. "I'm not even sure I could spell that, and I'm a damn scholar, mind you."

The car shook under the effort of Percy pulling a late right hand turn, and she just shook her head, smirking. "I'm not surprised you don't know about it. It's pretty secluded. It's my favorite beach."

"A beach?" She asked incredulously, giving him a funny look. "You are aware it's the middle of winter...In New York, right?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Of course I know that."

"Wow, Percy!" Her voice dripped with mock enthusiasm. "You really know how to show a girl a good time. Oh, but is it too late to head back home? I don't have an extra bikini on hand... or my parka."

Satisfaction felt sweet as Percy's own cheeks dusted with color. "I have my reasons," he muttered.

"Of course," she agreed. "I'm sure that even the sharks won't bother us, because who the fuck goes to the beach in January, right? Oh wait..."

"Sharks don't live in lakes," Percy pointed out, sticking his tongue out at her. She chuckled as he turned onto a gravel road, lined on either side with tall, pine trees. Woods spread out beyond the rocks, making it look like they were caught in the middle of a Twilight movie.

Annabeth watched out the window as Percy drove the Jeep further into the woods. For a moment, she let herself stare in awe at the scenery. She didn't know any kind of natural expanse existed so close to New York. They'd only been on the road for fifteen minutes, but somehow, Percy had managed to bring her somewhere she had never been, even with having lived in this city her whole life.

Eventually, the wooded area opened up to a vast spread of sand and water. Percy smiled at the sight, pulling his car off to the side in a makeshift, dirt parking space. The beach wasn't huge. Only a small mouth of sand shaped like a bean – the space only about forty or fifty feet wide. The sides tucked in close, sand meeting rock near the edges. It wasn't a beach – it was a small pocket of sand nestled in the midst of woods and lake. She was fascinated.

"When you said secluded..." she trailed off, unstrapping her seat belt and staring at the completely empty beach.

Percy stepped out of the car, the wind rustling his uncontrolled black hair. "'Who the fuck goes to the beach in January, right'?" He mocked, smiling widely at the small stretch of land. At her glare, he motioned for her to get out of the car.

The thin air bit at the exposed skin of her face and she tugged her hoodie tighter around her. She silently cursed herself for wearing a crop-top, especially because she refused to zipper her jacket. It would ruin the look, and Annabeth prided herself on looking like a bad ass bitch.

Outside, the air smelled salty as it blew through her curls. The winter musk scent emanated from beyond the trees on either side. She stepped in front of the car as Percy retrieved something from the back.

The wheat colored sand was fluffy, and contained little gray sea shells and pebbles. Thick blades of dry, grass and brambles speckled around the edges of the woods. She squatted down and plucked out a small, round rock. The shiny, gray surface was dotted in little black dots and she shoved it in her pocket as a souvenir for Nico.

Percy approached from behind, holding a backpack and mountain of fabric that she guessed was blankets. She couldn't see his face, and she chuckled, taking some from his arms. "Thanks," he told her sheepishly.

Together, they spread out one of the blankets about ten feet from the gentle tides of glowing viridian water. The soft material was a red and black plaid. She fell onto it lazily as Percy laughed and stretched out next to her.

"You really are terrible you know," she said. "I'm freezing."

To his side, there was another blanket. He tossed it to her before opening up his backpack. "Look at that. I thought of you."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "This still should be marked down in the Guinness Book of World Records for worst date ideas."

Percy looked indignant. "This was a great idea!" He started ticking reasons off his fingers. "One: No one will come and bother us. Two: Obviously, no other guy has done this for you. Three: You'll remember this for years – whether it be due to frost bite, or the fact that I'm a catch. That doesn't really matter. And four: I love the beach."

His smile was proud, like he was about to pat himself on the back. She couldn't hold back a laugh as she watched him. Percy was kind of adorable.

Annabeth tightened the black thermal blanket around her shoulders. "Hope you're hungry," Percy said, digging his hands into his backpack. "Because I brought food."

"Ah, you've finally done something right," she praised, offering a sugar sweet smile.

Green eyes narrowed in her direction. "Watch it, Chase."

Percy handed her a Saran-wrapped slice of pizza, and she held in her grin. "And before you say anything," Percy said, holding his hand up. "This may not be a 'classy' dinner, but I would definitely say it's thoughtful."

"How so?" she asked with an amused smile, bringing the pizza up close to her lips.

His fingers plucked a piece of meat off the top of his own slice, dropping it into his mouth. "My mom and I made this ourselves. And it's got olives – you love olives."

Her eyebrows shot up. "How did you know that?" she inquired as she took a tentative bite. It wasn't bad actually.

"I remembered you saying something about it," he brushed off, shoving his food into his mouth. She nodded, admittedly impressed. Percy pulled out two cans of Cherry Coke, throwing one her way.

The next few minutes were spent eating and watching the water. She tossed Scooby-Doo shaped gummies into Percy's mouth as the gentle waves lapped ashore only a few feet away from them. He missed most of the projectiles, but she didn't really care, because it was sort of funny to see his tongue come out, trying to make his mouth wider. Annabeth laughed loudly when one shot into his eye, and he bent over in pain, cursing loudly.

It was weird, because she thought that the day would be awkward and uncomfortable. But it wasn't like that. They barely knew each other, only having met around a week ago on a chat site, but Annabeth was really enjoying herself. Percy was actually pretty fun to be around.

As the sun sunk lower into the sky, the air became even chillier. She felt sort of selfish for hogging the blanket, but Percy had only brought one – excluding the one they were sitting on. His hands ran up and down his arms, and she sighed, her face already coloring at the prospect of what she was about to do.

"Do you wanna share the blanket?" She asked, squeezing her eyes tight, embarrassed at how completely corny this was.

Percy glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "It's okay. I'm fine," he told her, biting his lip as a breeze blew past them.

The blonde rolled her eyes, tugging at his arm. "Come on. It's not fair that I got to choose the Pandora station, _and_ take all of the blanket."

His resistance faded and he shrugged. "If you insist," he muttered. She brought her arm out, holding the blanket up as he scooted in. It was big enough for them both to bundle in snugly, their shoulders and thighs brushing. His skin was warm, and she briefly wondered if his shivering had been an act. She bit back a grin at the thought.

I Was Wrong by Surfer Blood played off of Percy's phone, and they were quiet as they listened. The sky tinted a rusty orange color as sun fell behind the wall of trees beyond the lake.

"It's getting late," she informed him. But neither of them moved. Percy only nodded, inside the blanket, his hand found hers. She blinked, and it took all that she had to ignore his warm hand on hers in hopes of sparing herself from a fiery blush.

His fingers played with her own, moving them back and forth and tangling them together. Her stomach jumped and he squeezed her hand.

If, last week, someone had told Annabeth that she'd be holding hands with an internet stranger on a secluded pocket of sand as the sun set, wrapped in blankets together, she'd probably have laughed. Or choked.

It didn't look like Percy was planning on capturing and torturing her any time soon, so she let her head fall onto his shoulder. Nico would have been proud.

Her heart was thumping in her chest, because she really wanted to kiss this idiot right now. The date was admittedly pretty enjoyable, and she would be able to squeal with her best friend about it once she got home. But if she didn't at least get a kiss by the end of the night – then what was all the blushing for?

Percy pulled his hand away, sliding it to rest over her shoulders. The blanket began to dip in the front after his movement, and she adjusted it tighter around them. His hand began to rub her shoulder and she wondered if most first dates went this way. Surely not any that she'd been on, but that wasn't the point.

In a kick of confidence she didn't know she had, she let herself snuggle closer into him. In truth, the whole night had been full of banter and sarcasm, but right now, she thought they were acting uncharacteristically romantic.

But then Percy ruined in by whispering in her ear. "I told you so."

"What?" she grumbled, ready to defend herself with or without the truth behind her.

"I knew you liked me," he sing-songed quietly. "I told you Fate wants us to be together."

She turned her head upwards to look at him. Surprised when her nose bumped against his, she cleared her throat, but for pride's sake, she didn't pull away. "How can you be so sure?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and hoping that her blush wasn't as hot as it felt. "What makes you think that I'm so interested in you?"

Maybe she shouldn't have asked that.

Because there was only a second to see his smug grin before she felt warmth on her lips. And _Sweet__ fuck_, he was kissing her.

The initial movement had been fast and confident, but once their lips connected, he slowed down, unsure. But she had been _waiting_ for this to happen, and she'd be damned if she let it end so soon. Her hands fell onto his chest, tangling in his shirt as she pulled him closer.

She felt his smile against her lips, but she ignored it, taking the chance to wipe the stupid grin right off his mouth. Her teeth gently tugged on his bottom lip as she pulled back, effectively stalling the breath in his lungs. She smirked.

His breath was warm on her face as his nose nudged into her cheek. "That's what makes me think that you're so interested in me." Annabeth could almost hear the smugness that had crept into his tone.

Sharp air whisked past them in the wind, and she using that to blame for her flaming cheeks. "Shut up, you cheeky bastard." But she did lean in once more to peck a chaste kiss onto his lips before pulling back for good, letting her head fall onto his arm again.

Percy chuckled, squeezing the shoulder that was still in his hand. They stayed like that until the sun had completely vanished for the night and there was only the stars to light the path back to the car.

And as Percy drove her home that night, his right hand in hers as his left controlled the wheel – which she knew was a bad idea, considering his lack of driving skill – Annabeth couldn't help but think that Nico was right, much too often for her liking.

**Ξ**

**There is something about procrastination that likes to invent these awful continuations of what was supposed to be a One-Shot.**

**Is a Three-Shot even a thing?**

**This one was more romantic than the last two, which were supposed to be more funny. And that kinda sucks. But, eh, they can't always be winners.**

**Hope you liked it**

**Bella**


	4. Four-Shot

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Heroes of Olympus series, Bob's Burgers, The Emperor's New Groove, Come On Eileen, or Omegle. All rights go to those deserving.**

**Ξ**

Annabeth swore under her breath as she stumbled out of the car. Her sneakers hit the asphalt beneath her feet and she steadied herself against the ground. Bright light peered down from the streetlamp above her, causing her to raise a hand in shield from its harsh beams.

Warmth radiated from the boy who caught up to her, finding it necessary to kick it old-style and walk her to the door. How classic.

She wondered if her father would be standing on the other side, holding a hunting rifle in his hands and wearing a scowl on his face.

Probably shouldn't push her luck.

Winter air stung at her cheeks, prickling her eyes as she stopped in front of her door. "So, tonight was fun..." Percy started, shrugging his shoulders casually.

"Ugh," Annabeth scoffed, thrusting her hands forward and clutching the fabric of his jacket tightly. "If this gets anymore cliché, I'll barf." With confidence she didn't know she could have had so early on, her hands tugged his body close to hers and she kissed him.

Not having expected the move, Percy was caught off guard. But Annabeth used that to her advantage, pulling back less than a millimeter and kissing the corner of his lips. She trailed a few kisses down his chin to his jaw line before completely backing apart and smirking at his expression.

His face was burning and it took all that she had in her not to thrust her fist through the air in triumph. That asshole had been making her blush for a week now. Percy was quiet for a moment, the edges of his lips tinged red from her lipstick and force of the kiss. He was blinking at her like she was a pearl and might have just spawned from a seashell.

Then he took a deep breath like he was steeling himself, softly weaving his hands into her mussed hair and pulling her in again. He kissed her slow. Different. Annabeth wasn't normally kissed like this. There was always an undercurrent of _Which way to the nearest frick-frack-shick-shack, __eh__?_

Kissing back, she hoped she wasn't making a fool out of herself, because seriously, _guys didn't kiss her this way _and she actually felt inexperienced and that just wasn't okay. She ran her tongue along the edge of his teeth, reveling in the way that he almost choked.

And as glorious as it was to kiss the loser she had met on Omegle, it didn't surprise her when they were interrupted.

With a best friend like Nico, she had come to expect it at this point.

"Holy fucking shit. Get your ass in here and spill," Nico called from her window, three stories up and probably waking up everyone on the street. Hopefully not the prude elderly couple in the apartment across from theirs. She wondered what they would have said had they seen the kiss Annabeth just planted on this boy. 'Impure, indecent, satanic,' possibly.

The blonde tore herself from Percy's mouth, her tongue painfully scraping against his teeth in a totally unattractive way. There went all hopes of seduction. Clenching her jaw and hoping to all hell that her tongue didn't start bleeding, her head whipped up to the boy who's body was swaying carelessly out of the window. "Nico, you fucking ass sucker, I'm going to bury you."

"Frickenshit, Annabeth. Look at you. What happened to him being a 'sadistic pervert who likes to watch little blonde girls scream?'"

Ignoring Percy's incredulous face, she ground her teeth and mustered up the most shit-your-pants worthy glare at her best friend. "If you don't close that window by the time I finish this sentence, your ass is grass."

Nico rolled his eyes, shutting the window. But not before calling back out, "You got that from Bob's Burgers, you cheap lil' slut."

Her fists tingled in anticipation to what she would do to that kid's head once she got up there. Turning back to Percy, she saw him watching her with amused eyebrows raised, his tongue coming out to moisten the smile spreading across his lips. "So...Bob's Burgers? That show is incredible."

"Before or after it cuts your IQ in half?" She mumbled, throwing her hair into a loose pony tail in frustration. When she got worked up, her neck heated up to the climate of Sudden Hell.

"I think it all happens at the same time," Percy mused, green eyes trained on her lips again. He pulled his vision back up, his smirk lifting up more on the left than the right as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a hug. His lips lingered on a spot just below the corner of her eye, and now she was the one who was caught by surprise.

Swallowing thickly, her voice still sounded hoarse as she asked, "How come the rapid burst of confidence? You were blushing, like, two seconds ago."

"You've got it all wrong, Chase," he told her, tapping his index finger on her nose. "_I'm_ the one who makes _you_ blush. Remember?"

"Oh, yeah?" she said, turning her face into his neck. Her teeth bit into his skin. Not rough, but also not gentle. She grinned against his warmth as he lost his balance, almost tumbling them both over while he swore under his breath.

"Shit!"

"You were saying?"

Percy scowled at her, shoving a hand through his hair. "Whatever," he mumbled.

Physically, she had to bite her lip to hold back a smile at how adorable he was when she won an argument. She could get used to the look. "Aw," she cooed, poking at his cheeks. "Don't expect to win many fights with me around, Perce. I play dirty."

"I can see that," he said under his breath, his thumb stroking the spot of his neck where she'd sexually frustrated him.

Oops.

Annabeth could almost feel Nico watching from the window. Knowing she had to wrap up this goodbye before it stretched too long, she pulled Percy against her, arms wrapped around his waist. "It was nice meeting you, Percy." She sighed, her nostrils invaded with the new smell of beach on him.

His chuckle shook through her. "Likewise."

As she pulled back, she gave him one genuine smile before saluting him and turning around. _Oh God. Did I __really __just __salute him__? _she thought silently once her face was out of his view. She fumbled in her pocket for her keys, pulling the metal ring out of her jacket and pushing the correct one into her door.

"Annabeth," Percy yelled after her once the door had swung open. She glanced at the teenager, seeing him shove one of his hands into his pocket while the other one tore through his hair. "For the record, I didn't plan on kissing you tonight. Like, at all. It was one hundred percent impulsive and stupid, and I don't regret one second of it."

Amused, she smiled, nodding. "Good to hear, Percy."

"I expect you to text me tonight," He called out over his shoulder as he hopped into his Jeep, the engine roaring to life as he clicked the keys into the ignition. The driver's side window rolled down and he leaned out. "If you don't, I'll call Nico. And we'll see who wins after that one."

Her eyes narrowed at him and he just laughed. With one last wink and a honk, he pulled off of her road, driving away.

Sighing, she stepped into her house, shaking her head in a feeble attempt to calm herself down from the rush Percy provided. And for almost a second, she imagined falling backwards onto her front door, sliding down with a dreamy sigh.

She gagged at the thought.

Sliding off her converses, she tiptoed further into her home, quietly scaling the stairs. Her bedroom was on the third floor, which was shared by a bathroom, the guest room, and a small den. Her room was the only one with a strip of light spilling out into the dark hallway from the crack beneath the door.

Not wanting to wake her family on the floor below hers, she waited until she turned the knob of her door before she could lose it at her best friend. He sat at the edge of her bed with her Macbook in hand, watching some video of a guy with a Swedish accent. The man was twerking on top of his dog.

Annabeth's eyebrows scrunched and she shook her head in disgust. "Ew. What the hell are you watching?"

As Nico turned around excitedly to explain the video, Annabeth remembered how pissed she was with him. "Nevermind," she growled before jumping at him.

She heard her laptop crash to the floor, but couldn't be bothered about it. Her hands found themselves wrapping around his neck as she straddled him on her bed, her thighs coming to the outsides of his hips as she leaned down close to him. It might have been intimate in any other situation – and led to hot, accidental sex – but Nico was so gay, he couldn't even walk straight. She had no qualms with what they were about to get into.

"You douche dick!" she yelled as she strangled him. Her knees were locked tight around his hips and she knew he wouldn't be able to kick her off. "You threw off my groove!"

Nico surprisingly was still able to roll his eyes, despite the lack of oxygen making it to his brain. "Alright, Emperor Kuzco," he rasped out hoarsely.

Her balance failed as he kicked upwards, flipping them over. His shaggy black hair hung down, looming over her as he scrunched his nose in concentration, pulling at her hair harshly as she tried to stuff her thumbs into his eye sockets. "He probably thinks I'm a loser now, you dipshit!"

"He wouldn't be wrong!" Nico yelled, craning his neck away from her eagerly poking hands.

Annabeth grunted loudly, kneeing him in her favorite male organ. At his guttural groan, she felt a proud smile peak on her face. He fell to the side, clutching his groin and squeaking.

"I can't believe you did that," she said, out of breath. "We were so- I don't know. But you ruined it."

Nico closed his eyes as he struggled for air. "_I_ can't believe that you were practically humping him in the streets! What _happened_ on that date?"

Her face stuffed into the pillow and she groaned, knowing she'd have to explain everything to Nico, and she just didn't know if she was prepared to deal with his cocky smile right now. Sitting up and facing him, she flicked him once in an advance.

"Ow!" Nico complained. "What was that for?"

"It was for later." She proceeded in relaxing on her bed, tossing her jacket somewhere on the floor and pulling the blankets up to her armpits. "You'll deserve that at some point."

The boy grumbled, but stayed quiet as he waited for Annabeth to tell her story. Sighing, she laced her fingers in front of her, twiddling her thumbs. "So, he took me to the beach."

Nico blinked.

"That's a joke, right? Tell me where you guys actually went."

She rolled her eyes. "Some secluded beach I can't remember the name of. It was...pretty romantic." She winced as the words left her mouth. Was she having_ girl talk_?

Shaking his head disbelievingly, his jaw dropped open. "Why are all hot guys dumb as bricks?"

Almost breaking out into unattractive laughter, Annabeth tried to explain. "No! It wasn't like that. It was...sweet. He had blankets and pizza. Soft lips."

A little sigh blew out from Nico's lips, and he tilted his head to the side as if he were dreaming. "Aw," he cooed. "That's actually kinda cute, I'll admit."

"And he was all convinced that it was fate for us to be friends and maybe more- and I just...ugh." She sighed, thinking of how cute his hair was when the windy beach ruffled it up—she'd never felt more like a girl than she did in that moment.

"He sounds perfect," Nico whispered, his eyes faraway.

Annabeth actually laughed a little at that. "Far from it. Half of the time he's cocky. And the other half, he's all... blushy and flustered – even though it's more adorable than anything. Also, he's probably a worse driver than that guy with the lazy eye from church."

Her best friend whimpered like he was trying to imagine being with a guy like Percy. "I wanna boyfriend," Nico whined. "Why are boys so fucking cute?"

"Tell me about it," Annabeth grumbled, letting her head fall onto Nico's shoulder. "He wants me to text him tonight..."

He sat up quickly and her head knocked harshly against the wooden headboard of the bed. "Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Oh, God! He's so into you!" he exclaimed.

She frowned, rubbing what was soon to be the purple egg on her forehead. "I don't know," she said as she glanced at her phone like it might give her an answer. "What if I change my mind about him? Texting him just seals the figurative deal."

Rolling his eyes, Nico flicked her ear. "Don't be thick! He's perfect and you are in no place to change your mind about him."

"I know. He's way too good for me," she whispered like it was some kind of secret. Her look was confused as she asked, "Why _is_ he interested in me?"

"Question: What is the worst scenario in which you would have to change your mind about him?" Nico offered, crossing his arms like a therapist.

She thought for a moment, humming. A cringe screwed up her face as she rushed out, "If he turns out to be one of those kids who claim they're obsessed with that Come On Eileen song, _after_ the Perks of Being a Wallflower movie came out." She sighed forcefully, shutting her eyes closed tight as she finished. The thought horrified her.

Immediately, Nico snorted, exploding in laughter. "Oh, God. My intestines. You've broken them," he gasped out as he keeled over, clutching his stomach.

Annabeth sent him a glare. "It's a worthy fear," she defended.

"You're right," Nico agreed as he wiped tears from under his eyes. "Jesus, you're right. It totally is."

Her posture slumped for a second and she picked up her phone again. "What should I say..?" she drawled, flipping the chunk of metal idly.

"Tell him he's a loser and you might have had fun."

The blonde blinked at her best friend. "Genius..." she muttered.

After Annabeth texted him Nico's message, she stood up from her bed to check on her Macbook, which was thankfully perfectly unharmed. Then she heard Nico gasp.

"What?" she turned around quickly, her eyes flinging across the room, expecting danger...or maybe her mom.

"You don't know why he's interested in you?" he squeaked. "It was the pants! Annabeth, your ass looks incredible!"

"What?" She turned her head behind her, glancing at her tight black leggings. She would admit they did wonders for her tush, but still she was skeptical. "Really?"

Nico nodded seriously. "I know the exact image in his head at this very second, and I will tell you it is not your pretty little eyes, sweet cheeks."

A blush coated her cheeks, but she was grinning. "Really?" she asked again, twirling around to give Nico a good look at her in the magical leggings.

"Oh, yeah, Annabeth," he confirmed. "Even I'm about to go straight for you."

Annabeth finally made that fist pump to the air. "Yes!" she hissed under her breath. "Finally, I did something right with this kid!"

"He texted you back! Bitch, _get over here_!" Nico suddenly shouted, probably waking up her parents. Not like Annabeth cared. _He texted her back_.

_Youre a cute loser and maybe I had fun too. It looks like im gonna take you on a second date just to make sure_

"Oh, _hell_ fucking yes."

**Ξ**

**Don't even mind another expansion to this story. I'll casually drop it on by and pretend it never happened.**

**Bella**

**ps: Nico said the last line. Whoops**


End file.
